TASCAM Portacapture X8 - Portable 6+2-Track High-Resolution 32-bit float/192-kHz Recorder, usb2.0

Product Information

Just like its older sibling, the main way you interact with the Portacapture X6 is less via the physical controls and more through the touchscreen, in an approach that owes an awful lot to smartphone design. This means that you can get quite a long way with this machine just by touching icons and seeing what happens. Just like a smartphone, you start with the Launcher, which presents you with a set of ‘apps’ that give you access to all the functionality of the machine. You get exactly the same set of apps in both the X6 and the X8, with the exception of two minor apps that are missing on the X6: a tuner and a metronome. In my review of the X8 I gave quite detailed descriptions of each of the apps and I commend that review to you for the full monty; for this review, I shall give just brief descriptions of each one. Included Mics, phantom power off, Stereo WAV -recording; 44,1kHz 24-bit recording POWER SAVE MODE on 11:00:00

Included Mics and Input 5/6, Phantom power used, Stereo-WAV-Recording; 44,1 kHz / 24 Bit; POWER SAVE MODE on 10:00:00As a cost option, Tascam are also offering the AK-BT1 Bluetooth adaptor, which you can use to connect the X8 to a mobile device for remote operation. Audio interface. The X8 can be used an audio interface while also capturing audio from the onboard microphones at the same time, and recording to the microSD card too. It can’t be used at 192 kHz in this mode, though. Note: When using phantom power, the operation time might be reduced, depending on the mic being used. The front of the Tascam is ruled by a 3.5-inch color LCD touchscreen which accesses all the unit’s functions. Directly below are Stop, Record, Play/Pause, and Mark with a rotary knob to adjust levels. The bottom has a Peak and Record LEDs, and the top has two detachable 14.6mm Condenser Microphones that may be configured in the X/Y or A-B positions.

There were so many different uses I had envisioned for the Portacapture X8, I decided to limit it to six different “tests.” In the first test, I used six microphones to record a small combo consisting of an acoustic guitar with an omnidirectional lavalier clipped to the guitar’s body and a cardioid on a stand pointed at the guitarist (XLR inputs 3 and 4). Tuner & Metronome. The simple chromatic Tuner and Metronome apps do what they say on the tin. Neither is essential if you’re doing all your recording to the Portacapture, but they’re nice to have and could make life easier later on in your DAW. The Portacapture X8 can accept Micro SD cards up to 512GB in capacity, while power can come either from four AA batteries (alkaline, Ni-MH or Lithium), a USB power cable, or an optional AC adaptor. If you're running on external power but your mains or power supply fail, the unit will automatically continue recording on batteries if you've got them fitted. Oh, and when you're not on the move, the X8 will also function as an 8-in/2-out audio interface, via USB. I suggested to Tascam that since presets are employed elsewhere it would be good to support user‑definable presets in the Manual app — if you use two or three recording setups frequently, creating presets for each could be a real time‑saver. Tascam liked the idea and say they are looking to see if it can be added in the next firmware update.Portacapture X8 provides a preset level setting to achieve a wide dynamic range, thanks to top-quality A/D converters and recording technology with 32 floating-point resolution. The result is impeccable audio content, even with low-level recordings.When editing the audio data later, you can increase the level without deteriorating the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). Also, the internal normalize function can automatically align the level of the stereo mix file after recording. USB Audio Interface for your Computer The Portacapture X8 comes with two large 14.6mm diameter built-in condenser microphones. With the TASCAM developed HDDA mic preamps, these microphones are well suited for high quality audio recording and can easy be set for A-B and X-Y microphone patterns. The Portacapture X6 makes Tascam’s touchscreen approach to mobile recording more portable and affordable than ever. The Record Settings allows you to set the parameters of your choosing like “File Format” (WAV/MP3), “Sample” (44.1kHz – 192kHz), “Bit Depth/Bit Rate” (16, 24, 32bit float); “Rec Pause”, “Auto Rec”, “Dual Rec”, “Pre Rec”, and “Time File Increment.” Wireless remote. Adding the AK-BT1 Bluetooth dongle allows the unit to be controlled by tablets and mobile phones

Support multi-language menu display (English, Japanese, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Chinese, Korean, Russian) The X8 is slightly noisier than both the Sony D100 (when using the built-in mics) and the SD Mixpre 3 ii (when using external, phantom powered mics) but not by much. To my surprise, the X8 is less noisy in the high frequencies (above 40kHz) than the Mixpre when recording in 192/32 mode. I also noticed that the X8 has softer transients than the Mixpre 3 ii, which can result in loss of clarity and coloration of the recordings it captures. Overall it’s a bit of a mixed bag but it could be much worse at this price point.

CAMERA/EXT input allows audio recorded on a camera to be monitored and also supports audio input of wireless microphones and more